I cannot tire of Marrakesh

Marrakesh, (the English spelling, but wildly used is the French spelling, Marrakech) really does have it all for an exciting, adventurous, friendly, fun, active and relaxing holiday. From arriving at Menara Airport your transfer is only 15 minutes to the centre of the walled city. Morocco's official spoken language is Moroccan Arabic, which is slightly different from other forms of Arabic. Nevertheless, thanks to its varied historical influences, part of the population also speaks French. Those working in tourism normally also know English and Spanish. If you are slightly less confident driver I would not recommend driving here, you are contending with scooters and donkeys! There are so many beautiful hotels in the city of Marrakesh and also surrounding the walled city. There is a lot of hustle and bustle and calls to prayer in the city, so it really depends on your wishes for quiet or not. The people are friendly, however, tourists do stand out and you will be approached to buy things or be shown areas to visit. I would suggest politely refuse and use guides recommended by your hotel or the tourist office. We stayed outside the Medina at Dar Lamia in Ouahat Sidi Barhim (www.darlamia.com), a superb estate located in the western palm grove of Marrakesh and about 15 minutes to the centre. Taxis are very cheap and can be booked easily. They are happy to arrange a time to collect you at a pre-arranged spot. My family and I visited for New Year’s and January is the coldest month, however we were still able to sunbathe by our pool and just wrapped up in the evenings. This is a good time to go for golf as the weather is perfect for a round or two! There are a lot of courses and are most well maintained. The Ideal months to visit are March to May or September to October when temperatures 21° to 32° C. The hottest month is July with an average temperature of 29°C but can get to a whopping 43°C! There are so many things to do from shopping and exploring the souks in the Medina to discovering the beautiful waterfalls in the Atlas Mountains. After our guided walk up the mountains (sensible foot wear is a must) we tucked into Lemon Chicken Tagine sitting by the water, it was perfect! Jemaa el-Fnaa is the main square and epicentre of Marrakesh and worth a visit to experience the buzz, vibrancy, snake charmers, dancers and music. It is also amazing as the sun goes down and the square changes. We enjoyed fantastic food. There is very much a French influence and some top restaurants. We ate a the roof top restaurant at the La Farnatchi (www.lefarnatchi.com) in the heart of the Medina. This is owned and run by a friend of ours and is actually a 5* hotel. Local chilled rosé wine with delicious meze and indulgent desserts, what was not to like! The YSL Gardens, Jardin Majorelle, are a definite must to visit. They are not vast so will not take long, but very beautiful and vibrant. At the time we visited there was a fantastic YSL dress exhibition which was a super surprise, as this was a girl’s trip (the boys were playing golf!). Always ideal to book in advance, even in January there was a long queue, possibly better to avoid the weekend. We were recommend to buy a ticket for the museum, which includes the garden, and the queue is shorter. After this we wandered the shops before taking lunch at Le Grand Café de la Poste (www.en.grandcafedelaposte.restaurant) opposite Zara, how handy! THE best Croque Monsieur ever! They do also have fancy food, but we were in shopping mode. Tiles, argon oil, soaps and sparkly slippers were some of the treasures we took back from our trip here. We ventured to have a hammam at our hotel, I think this is best in hotter weather when the atmosphere in the hammam would be more conducive to this. Spas and treatments are very good and recommended, well you are on holiday! There are so many restaurants and cafes, from casual to high end. Our last night we went to Plus61, this was recommended by an influencer on Instagram and it really was superb (www.plus61.com), fabulous cocktails too! Another recommendation would be Les Deux Tours (www.les-deux-tours.com) 5* luxury spa hotel, 10 minutes from the centre of Marrakesh . We had dinner here in the beautiful airy Salammbo restaurant, they were very accommodating of our large party (7) at short notice. I can’t wait to go back to Marrakesh, there is still so much to do and explore and definitely to eat! For either a short break (just under 4 hours from Gatwick) or a longer holiday, it will not disappoint. Why not celebrate New Years with a Murder Mystery over dinner in your Marrakesh villa, yes, it really was a trip to remember!